Re: Apple IIgs enthusiast wannabe

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

jrteague@my-deja.com wrote:

>I've owned my IIgs for a period of six months.
>Prior to that six months, I was fascintated in
>the idea of collecting old computers.  My
>fascination was reinforced with the kaboodles of
>information on the nostalgia in collecting these
>classics.  Six months ago I finally found a IIgs,
>threw on a kensington system saver, rpg monitor,
>imagewriter ii, etc.  I did all of this for under
>ten dollars at a resale shop.  This is the beauty
>and part of the fascination with collecting
>these.  I do it for my own benefit, not for a
>chance of it ever being worth anything to the
>future.  Six months ago I brought home my new toy
>with various system software and a copy of print
>shop that I found laying around the shop.  About
>ten years ago, I learned the BASIC language on an
>Apple ][+ and was anxious to try it again on the
>IIgs.  I was happy for the time being, always
>knowing in the back of my mind of the tons of
>software titles that I would be able to download
>off the net for it.  Here I am now, a little
>disappointed.  You see, the only other computer I
>own I a pentium clone.  I am devastated to know
>that right now my IIgs is nothing other than a
>paperweight without any software.  You see, my
>ultimate goal is to use a classic computer for
>everyday purposes, fulfilling its intended
>purpose, if you will.  A web browser would be
>nice, or some really fun games, it would great to
>use it for email, or perhaps use it musically,
>for I am a musician.  You see, as far as I can
>tell, the only way to accomplish these things is
>to spend a lot of money that I don't have on
>practially obsolete software that most of the
>modern computer world doesn't even care about.
>Hopefully, this conception is utterly untrue, and
>believe me, I'm the first one to know if it
>isn't.  Would someone please let me know if I've
>hit the mark or if I'm living in a
>misconception?  Either way it would be greatly
>appreciated. If you would, reply directly to
>jrteague@pdq.net and help a guy open his eyes to
>this select world of collecting these gems of
>computing history.  Thank you.

It depends.  If your conception is that you can
get a plain IIGS without the requisite amount
of RAM for the majority of its software and expect
to get it to run web browsing and email software,
then yes, that's a misconception.  The IIGS can
be configured for optimal memory and storage
for pennies compared to what it takes to get a
PC up to speed these days.  Its software is
cheap but amazing.  Amazing in that the IIGS,
although old today, was way ahead of its time
(1986).  Think about it.  Web browsing was
invented only some six years ago and didn't
become popular until four years ago, yet IIGS
programmers have come up with a web browser
for it.  And that's where the misconception might
lie.  You see, although the IIGS is old, the
software for doing useful things with it is relatively
new.  The programmers don't expect to make a
fortune out of selling hardware and software for
the IIGS, but they still want SOMETHING for
their trouble.

The fact of the matter is that you need between
$70 to $120 to make the IIGS a useful system.
That's nothing compared to what one usually
spends on a PC.  A good game title on a PC
costs $40 to $50.  Come on, isn't that right?
Ok, so the IIGS is an old system and a Pentium
PC is a new system, I understand that.  What
I'm saying is if you do not feel the IIGS is worth
spending some money on, that's ok.  But it
does take a few bucks to get it working.

So, if you are willing to spend a few bucks to
get the IIGS up to speed, it is quite easy to do
so.  If not, then you should probably sell the
system.  This is not a slam, but rather the
reality of the matter.

If you decide to go ahead and configure the IIGS
to be useful, http://www.allelec.com/ Alltech
Electronics sells hard drives and memory for it.
The Focus hardcard is a hard drive on a controller
card for the IIGS.  It comes preformatted with
System 6.0.1, the latest OS for the GS, and a
library of freeware and shareware.  I noticed that
you like music.  You'll be happy to know that
System 6.0.1 provides a rudimentary MIDI
sequencer/synthesizer program called synthLAB.
With it and a Macintosh MIDI box (IIGS and Macs
use the same MIDI interfaces that hang off the
serial port), you could sequence you own music
and get the GS to play it back for you via its
internal 32-channel wavetable synthesizer.  There
were pro notation and sequencing software for the
IIGS, now available in the used market too, of
course, but synthLAB will get you started.

Since you are new to the IIGS, please allow me to give
you a tour of the system.

The IIGS is an amazing machine given its age.  It
can run a free version of Wolfenstein 3D, has its
own UNIX, and even its own TCP/IP capable of
32 simultaneous sockets!  Email is due to be released
soon and and ftp is here.

A web browser of sorts is already here as is telnet!

Here are some information and specs for the IIGS:

There are two things you need to do to get the IIGS usable.
First, get a hard drive for it.  http://www.allelec.com/ Alltech
Electronics sells an internal hard drive for the IIGS that is
a hard drive on a card.  No extra controller needed.  It is
an IDE controller plus notebook mechanism.  It costs $79.
For that price, you also get the most modern Apple IIGS
System Software, GS/OS (System 6.0.1), which is normally
on six separate floppy disks (a hard drive is needed to get
the most out of it).  You also get tons of freewares and
sharewares.  The hard drive is called the Focus hard
drive card.  Look for it on the Alltech site.

The other thing is memory.  Alltech (see above for web
site) also sells the Sirius RAM card.  They are revising
their web site, so this product may not yet be on there,
but just call them and ask.  It is a 0-8MB memory card
that can be expanded in 1MB increments using 1MB
30 pin SIMMs.  I'm sure you have an old 386 lying around
that you can gut.

The IIGS' minimum recommended standard is 4MB.

Here are the specs for the IIGS:

1. Make and Model:
     Apple IIGS

2. Released:
     1986 (256K model) and 1989 (1.125MB model)

3. Follows:
     Apple IIc

4. Followed by:
     Apple IIc Plus

5. CPU:
     Western Design Center (not to be confused with Western
     Digital, the hard drive maker) 65C816 running at 2.8Mhz.
     Processor has 24-bit addressing (16MB memory space).
     Speed can be dropped down to 1Mhz for compatibility
     with emulation of IIe applications.  Speed can be
     increased to 15Mhz with an add-on CPU card.

6. ROM:
     128K in the 1986 "ROM 1" model
     256K in the 1989 "ROM 3" model (Apple skipped ROM 2
          so as not to confuse "Apple II" with "ROM 2")
     ROM is expandable to 8MB (some cards use ROM
          space as non-volatile battery backed virtual disk
          storage for instant on applications [RamKeeper]).
     The ROM contains much of the GS Toolbox routines.
     These routines are patched by disk loaded code in
     later system software revisions.

7. RAM:
     The 1986 model has 256K built-in to the motherboard.
     The 1989 "ROM 3" revision has 1.125MB built into
     memory.  The Apple IIGS is expandable to 8MB of RAM
     with the right memory card.  Many applications, such
     as Apple Computer's HyperCard program for the GS (GS
     version of the famous Macintosh program) need at
     least 2MB.  Extra RAM goes into a special memory
     expansion slot on the motherboard.  Both Alltech
     Electronic (http://www.allelec.com ) and Sequential Systems
     (http://www.sequential.com ) are selling 8MB memory cards
     as of October 1998.

8. Case:
     Attractive platinum ABS impact resistant plastic. The
     keyboard and mouse are separate from the unit, as are
     all disk drives.

9. Keyboard:
     Full layout keyboard with numeric keypad.  The keys
     have good tactile feel and click slightly with each
     keypress.  They have rollover for fast typist.  The
     Apple IIGS uses Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) standard
     keyboards and mice.  This means it can use many such
     input devices designed with the Macintosh in mind.
     Any Mac made after 1986 has an ADB port, but the IIGS
     was the first computer with one.

10. Display:
     The Video Graphics Chip (VGC) is a custom video chip
     that provides all of the GS' graphics modes.  All modes
     use a 12-bit palette for 4096 colors.
        --320x200 with 16 colors
        --320x200 with 256 colors: in this mode, the VGC
          is taking advantage of the fact that it has memory
          for 16 separate palettes.  Each scan line can be
          assigned any one of these 16 palettes for a total
          of 256 possible colors.  This mode requires no CPU
          assistance and is often used in games.
        --320x200 with 3200 colors: in this mode, the CPU
          is used to swap palettes into and out of video
          memory such that a separate 16 color palette can
          be used on each of the 200 scan lines for 3200
          possible colors.  This mode is often used for
          viewing graphics.
        --640x200 with 4 pure colors: this mode is bland
          and is not often used.
        --640x200 with 16 dithered colors: in this mode, the
          pixels in the graphic screen are grouped into
          even and odd columns.  The even columns can have a
          palette of 4 pure colors out of a of 4096 possible.
          The odd columns can have a second palette of 4
          pure colors.  The GS dithers the adjacent colors
          for 4x4=16 dithered colors.  This mode is widely
          used in productivity programs and also in Apple's
          Finder for the GS.
        --Fill mode: for faster rendering of graphics, the
          fill mode is a hardware mode in which an outline
          of a graphic can be drawn and the outline filled
          by a solid color without needing to draw in all the
          pixels.
        --Combinations and variations: the Apple IIGS has
          scan line interrupts.  Part of the screen can
          be in 640x200 mode and part of it can be in 320x200
          resolution.  Such split modes are sometimes used
          in paint programs, where the menu bar is in 640x200
          while the graphic is in 320x200.
          
  SVGA modes with 24-bit color can be added with an additional
  video card (see the Second Sight SVGA card at Sequential
  Systems http://www.sequential.com/ ).  The card is capable
  1024x768 resolutions with an SVGA monitor.

     The Apple IIGS also has all the graphics modes found on
     the Apple IIc.
        --Text mode: 40x24 and 80x24.  Characters are formed
          by a 7x8 pixel matrix. Text mode is monochrome but
          can be set to a specific color.  The background
          and boarder can each be set to different colors.
          Text mode is rarely used in GS programs since the
          OS, GS/OS, has a graphic desktop.
        --Low Resolution: 40x48 pixels in 16 colors.
        --Double Low Resolution: 80x48 pixels in 16 colors.
        --High Resolution: 280x192 pixels in 6 colors
        --Double High Resolution: 560x192 pixels in 16 colors.
        --Combinations/Variations: 4 lines of text mode can
          be mixed with a truncated Low Resolution or High
          Resolution mode graphic.  The text in mixed mode can
          be either 40 column or 80 column.

11. Audio:
     The Apple IIGS uses the 32 channel Ensoniq 5503 DOC
     wavetable sound chip used in Ensoniq's Mirage and ESQ-1
     synthesizers.  Although classics today, the Mirage and
     the ESQ-1 were professional synthesizers into the late
     1980s.  The 32 channels are commonly paired by the OS
     tools of the GS into 16 stereo voices, with one voice
     being reserved by the system for timing and the system
     beep.  The GS is commonly called a 15 voice unit.
     Programs that don't use the OS and hit the hardware
     directly (games and demos) can use the 32 channels as
     32 separate voices.

     See this link for more information:

     http://www.ensoniq.com/multimedia/semi_html/index.htm

12. Media:
     The "SmartPort" external drive port supports both Apple
     IIe/IIc UniDisks (3.5" and 5.25" models) and Apple IIGS
     daisy-chain 3.5" drives and Apple 5.25" disks.  It is
     also designed to support the Chinook CT-series 20MB to
     100MB SmartPort hard drives, but Apple IIGS users
     usually add an SCSI card to the system for faster hard
     drive access.

     The difference between a UniDisk and a IIGS 3.5" drive
     is that the IIGS drive is controlled directly by the
     computer while the UniDisk has a separate processor.
     The UniDisk is thus much slower (up to 4x slower) than
     a IIGS 3.5" drive.

     The SmartPort can support two 800K 3.5" drives, two
     140K 5.25" drives, and one 100MB CT100 hard drive
     simultaneously daisy-chained to each other.

     The Apple IIGS often shipped with the Apple High Speed
     (DMA) SCSI controller in an expansion slot for
     controlling SCSI devices.  Even 100MB Zip Drives and
     1GB Jazz Drives work on this SCSI port.

     A SuperDrive controller card can be added for using
     1.44MB high density floppy drives.

     The Apple IIGS' operating system, GS/OS, is modular.
     Like the Macintosh OS, INIT, extension, Desk Accessory
     and Control Panel files can be added.  These appear
     under the Apple menu in GS/OS programs such as Finder.
     GS/OS also supports the installable file system concept.
     Apple made several file system translators (FST)
     available: ProDOS, DOS 3.3, Pascal (UCSD), MS-DOS,
     ISO9660 (CD-ROM), and HFS (Mac).  Using the HFS file
     system, the GS can access a single storage partition
     of up to 2GB.  It also supports multiple partitions,
     some ProDOS (32MB per partition) and some HFS.
          

13. Input/Output:
     Two RS-423 ports (uses Zilog chip, same as Mac, for
                        Appletalk and 56.7k serial port max)
     Composite display output (NTSC or PAL depending on the
                               country)
     ADB port (for keyboard and mice)
     RGB monitor output (Drives an analog RGB monitor.
                         Besides Apple's, Amiga and Atari ST
                         monitors work with the right cable)
     External Drive "SmartPort" (IIGS daisy chain 3.5" or
                         UniDisks 3.5" drives, Apple 5.25"
                         drives, and CT-series 20MB to 100MB
                         hard drives)
     Joystick port
     Headphone connector
     Seven Apple Bus expansion slots (inherited from IIe)
     One Ensoniq sound connector (for input to the ADC for
          recording samples and access to the raw synthesizer
          output signals).
     One special memory expansion slot (supports up to 8MB
          of RAM expansion and 8MB of ROM expansion).


14. Trivia:
     The Apple IIGS was designed in response to the
     Amiga 1000 and Atari 520ST computers.  It was and is
     a quantum leap for the Apple II line.  Sales were
     strong initially and the IIGS even outsold the
     black and white Macintosh units that were its
     contemporary.  Sadly, Apple wanted Macintosh to be
     its future.  The total number of advertisements and
     commercials can probably be counted on one hand.  If
     the computer had been introduced a year or two earlier,
     things might have been different.  As things stood,
     the Apple IIGS disappeared from the market in 1992.

     In one final gasp, the Apple II supporters at Apple
     designed the Apple IIGS Plus, code named "Mark Twain."
     It had an 8Mhz 65C816, a built in SuperDrive, 2MB
     on the motherboard, and a hard drive.  Prototypes
     were leaked and one user group has one and wrote a
     series of articles about it.  Apple management vetoed
     this unit.

     The Ensoniq chip in the Apple IIGS was a brilliant
     move by Apple, but it drew a lawsuit by Apple Records,
     the Beatles' company.  Apple never again put a synth
     chip in any computer.  Even today, Macintosh does not
     have hardware synthesizers.  Macintosh needs to go
     around this with software based synthesis.

     In a twist of irony, you can currently do preemptive
     multitasking (like Amiga) on the Apple IIGS with the
     addition of a free product called GNO/ME, providing a
     UNIX like multitasking kernal under the GUI, much like
     AmigaDOS...while Macintosh lacks such a capability
     until Rhapsody is released (well, there was a UNIX
     variant for Macintosh, but it was discontinued by Apple).
     The Apple IIGS also has the ability to do cooperative
     multitasking (Macintosh style) with a product called
     The Manager...works to turn the GS Finder into a
     Macintosh type Finder (allows more than one program
     open and overlapping on the GUI and cooperative time
     slicing).

15. Emphasis:
     Small business, Home, Education, Gaming, Programming

16. Net Resources:
     http://ground.ecn.uiowa.edu/ (1.7GB A2 knowledge and
                                    software repository)
     http://www.sequential.com/ (Video cards and storage)
     http://www.allelec.com/ (Various hardware and software)
     http://www.hypermall.com/byteworks (OS, programming,
                                    books, software)